Amazon deal brings new iPhones and iPads to store in time for holidays

Amazon will be expanding the selection of Apple products sold in its online store in the coming weeks, following an agreement with Apple to allow the online retailer to sell Apple's newest iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch models.

The deal, which will apply to the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, and Spain, means the regional Amazon stores will sell Apple's latest hardware, as well as Beats headphones. The new products, which will include the iPad Pro, iPhone XR, iPhone XS and XS Max, and the Apple Watch Series 4, are said to arrive in the coming weeks, during the holiday shopping period.

According to CNet, the move will mean the Apple products will be offered only through Apple-authorized resellers via Amazon's marketplace.

The agreement will fundamentally change how Amazon offers Apple products, as presently the products are either not available or are only sold through the third-party marketplace. This process has led to products being offered to Amazon customers at varying price points, and not necessarily in perfect condition.

The switch in policy will effectively prevent the unauthorized third-parties from selling the products through the retailer, with listings taken down from January 4th unless the firms can receive authorization from Apple. It does not, however, affect Amazon's Renewed program, one which sells certified refurbished electronics through the store.

For consumers, this could mean fewer options in the store and fewer bargains, with pricing likely to be similar across the board. For Apple, it could help the company keep the pricing of its products at what it deems acceptable levels to keep revenues high.

"Amazon is constantly working to enhance the customer experience, and one of the ways we do this is by increasing selection of the products we know customers want," said Amazon in a statement on Friday. "We look forward to expanding our assortment of Apple and Beats products globally."

Though this does expand the range of Apple-offered products on Amazon, there are some exceptions. For example, the HomePod will not be sold on Amazon due to it competing with the Amazon Echo range, a policy that also applies to the Google Home speakers.

Amazon stopped selling the Apple TV in 2015 due to the lack of support for Amazon Prime Video, with customers pointed towards the competing Amazon Fire TV range. After a two-year block, Amazon started to sell the Apple TV again, following the arrival of Amazon's streaming service on the platform.